To kill or not to kill—Practitioners’ opinions on invasive alien species management as a step towards enhancing control of biological invasions

Monitoring the progress parties have made toward meeting global biodiversity targets requires appropriate indicators. The recognition of Invasive alien species (IAS) as a biodiversity threat has led to the development of specific targets aiming at reducing their prevalence and impact. However, indicators for adequately monitoring and reporting on the status of biological invasions have been slow to emerge, with those that exist being arguably insufficient. We performed a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature to assess the adequacy of existing IAS indicators against a range of policy-relevant and scientifically valid properties. We found that very few indicators have most of the desirable properties, and that existing indicators are unevenly spread across the components of the Driver-Pressure-State-Response and Theory of Change frameworks. We provide three possible reasons for this: i) inadequate attention paid to the requirements of an effective IAS indicator, (ii) insufficient data required to populate and inform policy-relevant, scientifically robust indicators, or (iii) deficient investment in the development and maintenance of IAS indicators. This review includes a gap analysis of where current inadequacies in IAS indicators exist, and provides a roadmap for the future development of indicators capable of measuring progress made toward mitigating and halting biological invasions.

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A framework for prioritising present and potentially invasive mammal species for a national list

NeoBiota ◽

10.3897/neobiota.62.52934 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 62 ◽

pp. 31-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sandro Bertolino ◽

Leonardo Ancillotto ◽

Paola Bartolommei ◽

Giulia Benassi ◽

Dario Capizzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

National Level ◽

The European Union ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Scanning Procedure ◽

Horizon Scanning ◽

Species Management ◽

The Eu

The European Union (EU) has recently adopted a regulation on invasive alien species that foresees the possibility of developing lists of species of National Concern. We developed a prioritisation process for alien mammals already established in Italy, but not yet included in the EU list (n = 6 species) and a systematic horizon-scanning procedure to obtain ranked lists for those species that are already introduced worldwide or traded in Italy (n = 213). Experts were asked to score these species, by evaluating their likelihood of establishment and spread and the magnitude of their potential impacts on biodiversity, economy, human-health and society. The manageability of each species was also evaluated, both for the proritisation and the horizon-scanning processes. We produced five lists that ranked species according to their potential spread and impacts and their manageability. These will allow policy-makers to select outputs according to a balance between risk assessment and risk management, establishing priorities for alien species management at the national level.

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The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)’s Post-2020 target on invasive alien species – what should it include and how should it be monitored?

NeoBiota ◽

10.3897/neobiota.62.53972 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 62 ◽

pp. 99-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Franz Essl ◽

Guillaume Latombe ◽

Bernd Lenzner ◽

Shyama Pagad ◽

Hanno Seebens ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biological Invasions ◽

Alien Species ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Wide Range ◽

Biodiversity Policy ◽

Global Biodiversity ◽

Main Components

The year 2020 and the next few years are critical for the development of the global biodiversity policy agenda until the mid-21st century, with countries agreeing to a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Reducing the substantial and still rising impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) on biodiversity will be essential if we are to meet the 2050 Vision where biodiversity is valued, conserved, and restored. A tentative target has been developed by the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), and formally submitted to the CBD for consideration in the discussion on the Post-2020 targets. Here, we present properties of this proposal that we regard as essential for an effective Post-2020 Framework. The target should explicitly consider the three main components of biological invasions, i.e. (i) pathways, (ii) species, and (iii) sites; the target should also be (iv) quantitative, (v) supplemented by a set of indicators that can be applied to track progress, and (vi) evaluated at medium- (2030) and long-term (2050) time horizons. We also present a proposed set of indicators to track progress. These properties and indicators are based on the increasing scientific understanding of biological invasions and effectiveness of responses. Achieving an ambitious action-oriented target so that the 2050 Vision can be achieved will require substantial effort and resources, and the cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders.

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The economic costs of biological invasions in Central and South America: a first regional assessment

NeoBiota ◽

10.3897/neobiota.67.59193 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 67 ◽

pp. 401-426 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Gustavo Heringer ◽

Elena Angulo ◽

Liliana Ballesteros-Mejia ◽

César Capinha ◽

Franck Courchamp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Biological Invasions ◽

Alien Species ◽

Eichhornia Crassipes ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

Terrestrial Environment ◽

Policy Responses ◽

Damage Costs ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

Region Ii

Invasive alien species are responsible for a high economic impact on many sectors worldwide. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of studies assessing these impacts in Central and South America. Investigating costs of invasions is important to motivate and guide policy responses by increasing stakeholders’ awareness and identifying action priorities. Here, we used the InvaCost database to investigate (i) the geographical pattern of biological invasion costs across the region; (ii) the monetary expenditure across taxa and impacted sectors; and (iii) the taxa responsible for more than 50% of the costs (hyper-costly taxa) per impacted sector and type of costs. The total of reliable and observed costs reported for biological invasions in Central and South America was USD 102.5 billion between 1975 and 2020, but about 90% of the total costs were reported for only three countries (Brazil, Argentina and Colombia). Costs per species were associated with geographical regions (i.e., South America, Central America and Islands) and with the area of the countries in km2. Most of the expenses were associated with damage costs (97.8%), whereas multiple sectors (77.4%), agriculture (15%) and public and social welfare (4.2%) were the most impacted sectors. Aedes spp. was the hyper-costly taxon for the terrestrial environment (costs of USD 25 billion) and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) was the hyper-costly taxon for the aquatic environment (USD 179.9 million). Six taxa were classified as hyper-costly for at least one impacted sector and two taxa for at least one type of cost. In conclusion, invasive alien species caused billions of dollars of economic burden in Central and South America, mainly in large countries of South America. Costs caused by invasive alien species were unevenly distributed across countries, impacted sectors, types of costs and taxa (hyper-costly taxa). These results suggest that impacted sectors should drive efforts to manage the species that are draining financial sources.

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Invasive species and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation: how close has Brazil come to achieving Target 10?

Rodriguésia ◽

10.1590/2175-7860201869407 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 69 (4) ◽

pp. 1567-1576 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Michele de Sá Dechoum ◽

Alexandre Bonesso Sampaio ◽

Sílvia Renate Ziller ◽

Rafael Dudeque Zenni

Keyword(s):

Biological Invasions ◽

Alien Species ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

Plant Conservation ◽

Global Strategy ◽

Focal Points ◽

Effective Management ◽

Management Plans ◽

Effective Development ◽

Environmental Agencies

Abstract Target 10 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation establishes that "Effective management plans are in place to prevent new biological invasions and to manage important areas for plant diversity that are invaded" by 2020. The rationale for the target is that invasive alien species are a major threat to native plants, and thus should be excluded from areas reserved for the conservation of plant species, especially when endemic and/or threatened. In Brazil, although most management plans report the presence of invasive alien species and the need for management in federal protected areas, there are only a very limited number of management plans implemented. The national strategy on invasive alien species, published as CONABIO Resolution 05/2009, has not been implemented, so progress on policies and legislation focused on invasive alien species at the federal level has been slow. In order to reach an effective development of public policies in Brazil, federal environmental agencies must function as focal points and be in charge of coordinating actions aimed at (1) identifying priority areas for preventing and managing biological invasions, and (2) managing invasive alien species and reduce their impacts.

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Policy-relevant indicators for invasive alien species assessment and reporting

10.1101/2021.08.26.457851 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Melodie A. McGeoch ◽

Eduardo Arlé ◽

Jonathan Belmaker ◽

Yehezkel Buba ◽

David A. Clarke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Biological Invasions ◽

Alien Species ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

Species Invasions ◽

Status And Trends ◽

The Status ◽

Impact Risk ◽

Status Information ◽

Key Dimensions

AbstractInvasive alien species are repeatedly shown to be amongst the top threats to biodiversity globally. Robust indicators for measuring the status and trends of biological invasions are lacking, but essential for monitoring biological invasions and the effectiveness of interventions. Here, we formulate and demonstrate three such indicators that capture the key dimensions of species invasions, each a significant and necessary advance to inform invasive alien species policy targets: 1) Rate of Invasive Alien Species Spread, which provides modelled rates of ongoing introductions of species based on invasion discovery and reporting. 2) Impact Risk, that estimates invasive alien species impacts on the environment in space and time and provides a basis for nationally targeted prioritization of where best to invest in management efforts. 3) Status Information on invasive alien species, that tracks improvement in the essential dimensions of information needed to guide relevant policy and data collection and in support of assessing invasive alien species spread and impact. We show how proximal, model-informed status and trend indicators on invasive alien species can provide more effective global (and national) reporting on biological invasions, and how countries can contribute to supporting these indicators.

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The economic costs of biological invasions in Brazil: a first assessment

NeoBiota ◽

10.3897/neobiota.67.59185 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 67 ◽

pp. 349-374 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

José Ricardo Pires Adelino ◽

Gustavo Heringer ◽

Christophe Diagne ◽

Franck Courchamp ◽

Lucas Del Bianco Faria ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biological Invasions ◽

Alien Species ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

Global Environmental Change ◽

Economic Cost ◽

Well Being ◽

Ecological Impacts ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Economic Costs ◽

Economic Sectors

Biological invasions are one of the leading causes of global environmental change and their impacts can affect biodiversity, ecosystem services, human health and the economy. Yet, the understanding on the impacts of invasive alien species is still limited and mostly related to alien species outbreaks and losses in agricultural yield, followed by the understanding of the ecological impacts on natural systems. Notably, the economic impacts of biological invasions have rarely been quantified. Brazil has at least 1214 known alien species from which 460 are recognized as invasive alien species. Still, there are no comprehensive estimates of the cost of their impact and management. Here, we aimed at filling this gap by providing a comprehensive estimate of the economic cost of biological invasions in Brazil. In order to quantify these costs for species, ecosystems and human well-being we used the InvaCost database which is the first global compilation of the economic costs of biological invasions. We found that Brazil reportedly spent a minimum of USD 105.53 billions over 35 years (1984–2019), with an average spent of USD 3.02 (± 9.8) billions per year. Furthermore, USD 104.33 billion were due to damages and losses caused by invaders, whereas only USD 1.19 billion were invested in their management (prevention, control or eradication). We also found that recorded costs were unevenly distributed across ecosystems, and socio-economic sectors, and were rarely evaluated and published. We found that the economic costs with losses and damages were substantially greater than those used for prevention, control or eradication of IAS. Since our data show costs reported in Brazil for only 16 invasive alien species, our estimates are likely a conservative minimum of the actual economic costs of biological invasions in Brazil. Taken together, they indicate that invasive alien species are an important cause of economic losses and that Brazil has mostly opted for paying for the damage incurred by biological invasions rather than investing in preventing them from happening.

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